


divine

by thefullergirl



Series: 23 Days of Wonder [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, Fluff, Holding Hands, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28012986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefullergirl/pseuds/thefullergirl
Summary: “It is pretty,” he says, handing it over to him. Jaemin takes it like it’s made of glass, gently twirling it and letting the light catch on its acrylic body. “We should get that.”Jaemin snorts, but he puts it on top of the pile of their items anyways. “Neither of us even believe in angels.”
Relationships: Na Jaemin/Zhong Chen Le
Series: 23 Days of Wonder [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051808
Comments: 6
Kudos: 36





	divine

**Author's Note:**

> for Little Wonder's 23 Days of Wonder! it's my first ever jaemle, i loved writing them <3

“Come on, it’s not  _ that  _ bad.”

Chenle makes a face as he pushes the shopping cart. Jaemin had dragged him to get Christmas decor because he had wanted to decorate his apartment. There was a different sort of excitement within Jaemin during this time of year, and he’s bouncing a little on his heels as he goes down the aisles of glitter and tinsel.

Okay, yeah, it really isn’t that bad, but Chenle wasn’t about to admit it. He kept his own apartment mostly the same during this time of year. Maybe he would stick a Santa hat somewhere. Life didn’t really permit him enough time or energy to really decorate, and he’s gotten a kind of conditioned disdain for doing that.

But the more that he walks into this too-bright department store with the same two Christmas songs playing over and over on the speakers, he realizes he honestly doesn’t hate it.

“Will you stay later? I need help menu planning for the party.”

“You’re gonna have a party this year?” Chenle asks, dumping some rolls of ribbon into their cart.

Plucking a fuzzy Santa hat from the shelves, Jaemin plops it on Chenle’s head. “Just a small one. Jisung’s still abroad, and Donghyuck’s going home for the holidays. There’s only a handful of us here available for a party, and I think that would be a nice little change, yeah?”

In past years, his boyfriend has hosted Christmas dinners with pretty much everyone invited. Colleagues, friends who were in the area, his floormates, his landlord, even Renjun’s cousins. It usually took at least two months to prepare for, and then a whole lot of cooking and ordering to feed everyone. More often than not, Chenle would crash into Jaemin’s bed in the middle of it, so he honestly does not recall a whole lot of the parties.

So yeah, a small one is a change. Neither of them would have to clean up the inevitably monstrous mess the next morning, and neither of them need to be up at 4 am to cook. It’s a good change. 

As Jaemin picks up a box of ornaments, Chenle looks at the contents of their cart. There didn’t seem to be any particular color scheme going on, and it really doesn’t look like Jaemin looks at any of the stuff he’s putting into the basket for more than a few seconds.

“No theme this year?”

“Nope.” Jaemin smiles, and he looks pink under the lighting here. “It’s not like I have to impress anybody this year, it’s just us.”

That makes a corner of Chenle’s mouth quirk up.

Several rolls of wrapping paper and two boxes of Christmas lights later, they’re at the display with all the pricier “select” ornaments. The table they’re at is a sea of white and silver, plastic tree included. Jaemin peers at everything for a bit, not wanting to touch all the glitter just yet. Chenle idly picks up an angel ornament.

“You like that one?” Jaemin asks, and Chenle doesn’t know when he stepped so close. “It’s pretty.”

His boyfriend knows all too well that he’s not into this sort of thing, so any interest in it has him perking up. Chenle should ask him why he loves the season this much. He’s just curious really, how he’s maintained this zeal about it.

“It  _ is  _ pretty,” he says, handing it over to him. Jaemin takes it like it’s made of glass, gently twirling it and letting the light catch on its acrylic body. “We should get that.”

Jaemin snorts, but he puts it on top of the pile of their items anyways. “Neither of us even believe in angels.”

True, they don’t. They don’t even actually believe in god. Haven’t for a long time. But it’s Christmas, and pretty things are pretty. No need to reflect on it too much.

They check out everything, coming out of the store with armfuls of bags. Jaemin decides to cram it into his car first before they stroll around. It’s a beautiful night, with December really starting to settle in. As much as Chenle doesn’t feel too strongly about the holidays, he does love this season quite a bit.

As they walk out into the garden part of the mall, Jaemin tucks Chenle’s hand into his coat pocket, holding it there. Chenle feels the slightest squeeze, and he hopes that his cheeks pinking could be attributed to the cold.

In all fairness, the mall didn’t skimp on the decor this year. There are fairy lights on the trees and wrapped around banisters, making everything look like they’re awash in stars. Lanterns hang at equidistant intervals in front of the stores, multicolored and beautiful. Here in the garden, there’s even what looks like a whole candy wonderland setup, and there’s no doubt that people would love taking photos here.

Jaemin’s snapping photos on his phone, eyes shining when he turns. He holds Chenle’s hand a little tighter as they walk down the candycane path. 

“Jaemin-ah,” Chenle calls, and Jaemin turns to face him. It must just be the warm tone of the lights, but he looks like he’s glowing. Chenle can’t speak for a heartbeat. “Why do you like Christmas so much?”

The edges of Jaemin’s grin soften. “You’re gonna call me a sap.”

“You  _ are _ a sap.”

That earns a chuckle from Jaemin. “Fair enough.” 

He tugs Chenle to sit on one of the benches, right next to a bunch of elf figurines. Jaemin winces at how cold the bench is, so Chenle reaches out his other hand for him to hold. Not much help, really, but it makes Jaemin’s grin widen.

For a moment, he just seems to stare at the gingerbread house a few paces away, before facing Chenle. “It’s beautiful, simple as that. The world is full of ugly, horrible things every single day, but this time makes it a little more bearable, you know?”

Suddenly, Jaemin doesn’t look like he’s a day over twenty. “And somehow, everyone is even just a little more giving. Like the guy at the sweet potato stall will give me one extra. Or I’ll see another dog get adopted from the shelter. Or I’ll see a handmade fridge magnet from my coworker on my desk. It’s nice, just all these bits of kindness that the holidays bring. It’s not gonna be enough to change the whole world, but it’s a nice effort.”

He sticks his bottom lip out as he looks at Chenle. Jaemin is probably anticipating to be teased about this, but Chenle doesn’t do that.

What he does is lean in and kiss the corners of his boyfriend’s smile. Jaemin lets out a surprised giggle, his fingers twining with Chenle’s.

Chenle thinks he’s going to start believing in angels from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> do leave a kudos/comment if you liked it! <3 
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/bundoie) | [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/bundoie)


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